Since FinEdge offers regular plans, how is the model client-aligned?

This is an important question because the debate around direct and regular mutual fund plans is often oversimplified.

Direct plans remove the distributor commission from the mutual fund expense structure. Regular plans include the cost of advice and service within the expense structure. But the presence or absence of commission alone does not decide whether an investing model is truly client-aligned.

Every investing business has a revenue model. A direct platform may offer mutual funds at a lower expense ratio, but may still earn revenue through cross-selling, upselling, broking, lending, insurance, PMS, AIFs, F&O, or other financial products. A fee-based adviser may charge separately for advice, but that does not automatically remove bias, scalability limitations, product preference, or implementation-related conflicts. A regular-plan distributor may earn through commissions, but that does not automatically mean the advice is product-led.

The real question is not whether a business earns revenue. Every business does. The real question is: what behaviour does the business model reward?

FinEdge's model is designed to be client-aligned by reducing product-led and transaction-led behaviour. We do not begin with "which fund is best?" or "which product should be sold?" We begin with the investor's goals, timelines, cash flows, risk requirements, behaviour, and long-term financial needs.

At FinEdge:

• advice starts with goals, not products;
• products are selected after the planning context is clear;
• Investment Managers do not operate with product-push targets;
• the focus is on long-term discipline, not short-term return chasing;
• portfolios are reviewed through a structured process;
• unnecessary switching, over-diversification, and product proliferation are discouraged;
• clients are guided through market cycles to help them stay aligned with their plans.

So when we say FinEdge is client-aligned, we do not mean that FinEdge has no revenue model. We mean that our revenue model is supported by an operating structure designed around goal-based investing, process discipline, transparency, and long-term client outcomes.

The cost of advice is embedded in regular plans, but the advice itself is structured around the client's goals rather than product sales.